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Symphony of a Thousand
The Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major by Gustav Mahler is one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertoire. Because it requires huge instrumental and vocal forces it is frequently called the "Symphony of a Thousand", although the work is often performed with fewer than a thousand, and Mahler himself did not sanction the name. The work was composed in a single inspired burst, at Maiernigg in southern Austria in the summer of 1906. The last of Mahler's works that was premiered in his lifetime, the symphony was a critical and popular success when he conducted its first performance in Munich on 12 September 1910. Tossup Questions # This work sets the "Ductore sic te praevio" to a double fugue, and the E-flat/B-flat/A-flat motif that opens the first vocal parts is repeated in the climax of the second section. A 1975 performance with the Vienna Philharmonic and Kenneth Riegel with Jose van Dam, among others, was recorded on video with a leaping Leonard Bernstein as conductor. Early on the key switches to D-flat on the words "Imple supema gratia," while a violin solo accompanies the singing of "Infirma." An intense march is set to "Hostem Repellas," and trumpets mark the second surge of the "Accende lumen sensibus" theme just as an E-flat minor baritone solo closes. In the second part, the bass, baritone, and tenor roles are respectively Pater Profundis, Pater Ecstaticus, and Doctor Marianus. Mulier Samaritana and Maria Aegyptiaca are the two soprano roles in this work, which uses the Veni creator theme that begins its first section as the climax of its second section, which is a setting of Goethe's Faust, Part II. For 10 points, name this work of Gustav Mahler which is noted for its large ensemble. # One section of this symphony is sung by three repenting women who quote the Rose Chorus in their canon. It was originally planned to have concluded by contrasting the sacred nature of an adagio movement entitled "Caritas" with a setting of the pagan hymn "The Birth of Eros." One of its movements is a setting of a Latin song written in the 9th century by Rabanus Maurus. The two movements of this symphony are connected by the "Accende lumen sensibus" theme, which comes from the fourth stanza of the hymn that its first movement is a setting of, the "Veni, creator spiritus." This symphony was promoted and nicknamed by Emil Gutmann and its second movement includes a chorus of the Anchorites and soloists voicing the characters Doctor Marianus and Gretchen. It was inspired by Goethe's Faust and included three choirs at its premier. For 10 points, name this massive symphony of Gustav Mahler. # One portion of the first part of this work opens with the direction "With sudden rapture" and concludes with a 36-measure B-flat pedal-point reprise of the opening section. The finale of the first part features a boys' choir joined by the full ensemble singing "Gloria Patri," a motif featured again in the second part, which ends with a pianissimo build-up called "The Sacred Feminine draws us up" and another reprise of the main theme, "Veni, Creator Spiritus." Following its composer's Song of the Night, for 10 points, identify this 1906 E-flat major symphony of Gustav Mahler which is given its nickname due to its extremely large number of chorus and orchestra members. # In this work, thirty-six measures of the organ playing the B flat pedal culminates in the section "Accende Lumen Sensibus," while the composer emulated the polyphony of Bach's motet Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied in the opening movement. In the finale, Doctor Marianus praises Mater Gloriosa, who is the personification of this symphony's unifying theme of the "Eternal Feminine." The first movement is based on the medieval hymn "Veni, Creator Spiritus," while the second movement is a setting of the final scene of Goethe's Faust. Featuring a chorus of over eight hundred at its premiere, for 10 points, name this Mahler symphony that requires many performers.